Rosca De Reyes Three Kings Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Combine yeast and water in a small bowl, stirring until dissolved, and set aside until yeast is proofed.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the milk, sugar, and butter, stirring until dissolved.
• Add the salt, eggs, and yeast mixture and blend thoroughly.
• Beat in 3 cups of flour to make a smooth batter Add additional flour to make a soft dough (dough will be very sticky).
• Turn out onto a floured board and knead approximately 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed.
• Dough may be made with a standing mixer and dough hook.
• Round into a ball and place in a warm buttered bowl, turning to lightly coat top with some of the butter.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
• Punch down the dough and divide in half.
• To prepare rings, divide dough in half and flatten into a long oval.
• Spread 1/2 can of Solo almond filling on each oval, place one bean into each oval, and roll each piece into a rope.
• Join ends together leaving large oval hole in the middle.
• Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
• While the bread is rising, preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bake rings for 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown and sound hollow when thumped.
• Remove and let loaves cool on wire racks.
• Icing: Mix all the icing ingredients together until fluffy and well blended.
• To serve, frost cooled loaves with icing.
• Decorate with different colored sugars or candied fruit.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In large mixing bowl, cream together butter or margarine and powdered sugar.
• Add eggs and beat again, until light and fluffy.
• Combine dry ingredients, expect chopped nuts.
• Gradually add dry ingredients and vanilla to creamed mixture.
• Sprinkle nuts on bottom of lightly greased 9x5x4-inch loaf pan.
• Pour batter into pan.
• Bake at 350°F for 55 minutes, or until pick comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch.
• Cool 10 minutes; turn cake onto wire rack to cool.
• Insert dry bean or"baby" from the underside of the cake when cool.
• During the last minutes cake is cooking, melt brown sugar in heavy saucepan over low heat.
• Remove from heat and add ground anise and vanilla extract.
• Pour warm syrup over freshly baked, cooled cake.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the yeast and warm water; stir to blend. Let stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Put all of the candied fruit in small bowl and drizzle the rum on top. Let stand for 15 minutes to 1 hour to infuse the flavor.
• In a small pot, warm the milk over medium heat. Add the sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
• In a large bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 eggs, yeast mixture, milk mixture, and the rum soaked candied fruits, mixing very well until the dough gathers into a ball. If the dough is too wet, Add additional flour, a little at a time, if needed to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Put the ball of dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface. Using your palms, roll the dough into a long rope. Shape the coil into a ring, sealing the ends together. Insert a little doll or coin into the bread from the bottom, if desired. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully transfer the dough ring to the prepared baking pan.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash, and brush the top of the bread. Decoratively garnish the top of the bread with more candied fruit and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden.
• Cool on a wire rack before slicing.